3 Hit the Road Jack (34 page)

The second he walked out the door, Craig looked at me. “He’s been weird today. Not his usual Ellen self.”

“I was hoping I was the only one to notice.”

“Did you get a gander inside his noggin?”

“No. Wall’s been up all day,” I frowned.

“Well, it’s great to have you back. I was a little lonely without you all,” Beth smiled, distracting us from her son.

“It’s great to be back!”

“And it’s only going to get better when I join the gang!” Mel exclaimed.

Chapter
32

KELLAN

This was something I felt I had to do. It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I’d feel better knowing I had.

I parked in front of the Bladang’s lakehouse, using the front door rather than the garage without Lexi. Kai opened the door on the first kno
ck
.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” He eyed me for a minute debating before nodding once and stepping back so I could enter.

“What’s up?” His body was tense, his hands stuffed into the
front
pocket
s
of his jeans.

“I don’t like you, but for some reason she loves you. Let’s not make this a Jacob and Edward thing, but if anything happens to me I want you to take care of her.” I clenched my jaw. I never thought I’d be saying these words to the damn vamp, especially since I almost lost Lex
i
to him once before. This wasn’t about me though; this was about her. Knowing what that stupid binder said
and what Jack had shown of the future
, I had to face the fact that anything is possible, especially death, and I love
d
her enough to make sure she’
d
be taken care of and protected long after I
was
gone. “As much as it
pains me to say this, you’re the best man for her in that situation. You’d sacrifice yourself to save her, and that means a lot.”

He didn’t relax his stance, only continued to glare at me, eyes narrowed as if assessing whether or not I was telling him the truth. Satisfied with whatever he saw, he nodded and offered me his hand. We shook on it.

We tucked our
hands into our pockets, awkwardly avoiding eye contact until Kai finally broke the silence. “I’ll always love and protect her. As much as you hate it, know I hate it too. It’s hard as hell to watch you with her; you don’t make it easy slobbering all over her every chance you get. I’ve always planned to wait for the moment you’re gone to pursue her again. It’s not like I needed your blessing to do it, but it’s nice that I can at least tell her you gave it to me,” he said, relaxing a bit as the idea formulated in his head. I knew the second the picture was complete when a genuine smile broke out on his face, despite his eyes being off in the distance.

I struggled to control my anger. Serum oozed over my teeth and gums, my fists clenched at my side.
I’m doing this for her.
I had to remember that. This wasn’t about me.

I took a deep breath, my nostrils flaring on the release as I struggled not to picture the same damn picture I knew he was. I’d already glimpsed it once before, losing her to him; them locked in each other’s arms happily gazing into each others’ eyes.
Damn it!

“Glad we worked this out.” I strained to remain polite. He nodded, understanding remotely in his view. He knew this was hard as fuck, but it didn’t stop him from gloating in it.

I turned and walked
out
, needing some fresh air to clear my head and reassure my heart that I’d made the right decision. I was doing this because I loved her, but the selfish part of me wanted her to mourn me forever. I wanted some stupid
T
wilight parallel where she avenged my death, but couldn’t handle the thought of her losing her life to do it, especially if the projected vision was right and we had a child together.

Damn him!
He’ll be raising my damn child over my dead body.
Great. How fucking ironic a phrase to use.

I sighed.
A baby. With Lexi. I couldn’t picture anything closer to perfection. She was gorgeous with her rounded belly, and just as graceful in her fight sequence. Now that I’d seen that fight though, I knew I would be there for her. It wouldn’t play out like that.

Fuck it! I was going to make sure all this shit never happened. I’d be damned if any man raised my child or kissed my wife besides me. She’s mine; only mine. I didn’t give a shit what some quack job predicted; I didn’t care what I had to sacrifice to be beside her forever. I’d do whatever I had to ensure it. She was never going to lose me. Never.

EPILOGUE

Years later…

“What story do you want mommy to read you tonight?” I asked, carrying
my son
over to the bookshelf to
make his selection
. He immediately reached out to grab the well-worn binding we’d read more times that I could count.

“Mommy and Daddy! Mommy and Daddy!” he shouted excitedly, nearly dropping the heavy journal as he jumped in my arms.

“Again?” I smiled, kissing hi
s chubby
toddler
cheek
s
. My heart fluttered as his emerald eyes beamed back at me, a small dimple in his left cheek as he laughed.

“Again, again!” His laughter was music to my ears, and I could never say no to him anyways.

I lay down on the bed and cuddled him in my lap, pulling the blanket over us both. He helped me turn to the first page
before leaning back against my chest and placing his thumb in his mouth. I kissed his messy dark brown hair.

“Hundreds of years ago, a vampire and vampeen
couple was
predicted…”

“Mommy and Daddy!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, Mommy and Daddy,” I laughed. So we were…

Thank you for purchasing this book. Based off the Epilogue, many have feared that it was the end of the series, but rest assured there is much more to come. The Vamp Chronicles continues with book 4, Vamp Versus Vamp.

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www.christinlovell.com

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Thank you for continuing to invest in the Vamp Chronicles series.

~Christin